The weather looks like it might be starting to move towards slightly more summery and, fingers crossed, we might actually be able to get outdoors and enjoy ourselves without the constant worry of having a brolly close to hand. As the days begin to get warmer we sometimes need a bit of inspiration as to what we can do to make the most of these rare sunny days. We thought it would be interesting to look at combining two past times that generally you don’t find combined but when you go along they suddenly make perfect sense to be together. We are talking about the theatre and the great outdoors.
Minack Theatre (Photo credit: Earthworm)
Theatre is thought by some to be a bit stuffy and bit out of date but that is not really the case with a real explosion in the amount of new theatre that is looking to go in different directions and make theatre accessible to everyone. As part of this drive to get more people to see theatre the National Trust Summer of Celebration is here to try and entice more people to experience theatre in an outdoor environment.
There are a lot of events going on up and down the country so we thought that we would look at a couple of the plays that were being performed.
Hughenden Manor, Buckinghamshire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
One of Shakespeare’s classic comedies Much ado about nothing will be performed in Hughenden Manor’s formal garden in Buckinghamshire. The performance will take place on the 4th of August from 7pm to 9.30pm, and it will tell the classic tale of love, marriage, trickery and rumour. A real classic piece that should be seen live to be fully enjoyed.
Another show that is being put on by the National Trust is taking place at Brownsea Island in Dorset. This play, Love’s Labour’s Lost, will be shown on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 10th of August. You have to take a ferry over to get to the location but it is one of the most amazing places to watch theatre. Make sure to bring a picnic with you and make time to have an explore around the island. This is a perfect example of outdoor theatre being put on somewhere a little bit different and making it more memorable too.
These are just a couple of examples of productions that you can catch over the summer period. If you are looking for a bit more inspiration we have put together a playlist of some memorable scenes performed in the outdoors. We have also scoured through social media channels to find people who are talking about outdoor theatre all around the world.
We hope that if you get the opportunity to check out some theatre in the great outdoors that the weather will hold off and you can enjoy one of the most relaxing and enjoyable pastimes in amazing surroundings. If you have been to any open air events let us know in the comments, same goes for if you have any tips on what you should take with you.
